OGDENSBURG – A former Ogdensburg Journal managing editor who now works for Sen. Patty Ritchie will run for St. Lawrence County Legislature.

Jim Reagen made the announcement Wednesday on the steps of City Hall.

“When my good friend, St. Lawrence County Legislator Donald Hooper recently told me that family obligations would prevent him from running for reelection, and he urged me to run in his place, I decided that I owed it to my community to seek the nomination to serve on the St. Lawrence County Legislature from District 1,” he said.

Reagen said Hooper has done an outstanding job over the past four years.

He also offered praise for Republican legislators Joseph Lightfoot, Kevin Acres, David Forsyth and others.

“St. Lawrence County no longer will have to borrow millions of dollars each year just to pay its bills on time,” he said. “If I am elected, I will help keep St. Lawrence County on a sound fiscal path and insist that we maintain the property tax cap that has helped us avoid the outrageous tax increases that have made it difficult for many families to maintain their homes.”

Reagen said he will work with law enforcement agencies to help take back Ogdensburg from the drug dealers, neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block.

“I will work to help expand drug treatment opportunities for those suffering from addiction,” he said,

He said the best way to address the drug problem is to help bring new jobs and economic growth to Ogdensburg and St. Lawrence County.

“As a member of the county legislature, I will work with my colleagues to help attract new businesses and new jobs to Ogdensburg and the North Country,” he said,

He said the county needs to work with more closely with its Canadian neighbors.

“We need to stop looking at the St. Lawrence River as a border. It’s our neighborhood and if we work with Prescott and the rest of our neighbors to the north, we can find new ways to can work together rebuild our economy,” he said.

Reagen said his experience as a reporter and editor and his work in state government provide him with a good background for the position.

“For close to 30 years, I worked alongside my good friend and mentor Chuck Kelly as the Managing Editor of the Ogdensburg Journal and Advance News,” he said. “For the past eight years, I have had the privilege of working for State Senator Patty Ritchie who has shown me how we can help communities work with state agencies in Albany to get things done.”

“As someone who has spent my career fighting for the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, our two prisons, our hospital and the other local, state and federal institutions that make Ogdensburg a unique place in Northern New York, I believe that I can use what I’ve learned from Chuck Kelly and Patty Ritchie to make a difference.

Reagen says he will be busy over the next few months winning support across his district.

“Over the next five months, I intend to earn your vote and show that I have what it takes to represent our community in the county legislature. I am very pleased today to see a great cross section of people who have taken the time from their busy schedules to show their support for my candidacy. It means a great deal to me and to my wonderful wife, Donna,” he said. “I want to thank all of you for coming out today. If I am elected, I promise l will work for you to make Ogdensburg and St. Lawrence County a place where our children and grandchildren will be proud to call their home.”